His Confession
by ProfessorDumbleBrows
Summary: The last thing Makoto expected was to be confessed to and the last thing Haruka expected was to over hear the confession. Now both Haruka and Makoto are dealing with their internal struggles of their affections. Should Makoto tell Haru? Should Haru stay shut and support Makoto? In the end, there is love and a possible new friend. Based off the idea of a post on tumblr.


Start of the new school year.

Makoto and Haruka were now third-years in school. It was this year and then off to university. Both of them were excited, one showing his excitement more than the other, however. Naturally, on the walk to school, Makoto talked the whole way with only minor comments from his best friend. Haruka was always more of a listener and that trait would probably follow him all the way to university.

After entering the school and sitting through the long and boring assembly to welcome new and returning students, Haruka and Makoto walked to their classroom together. It was no surprise that by this year they were placed in the same classroom without having to request changing. They sat in the two seats in the back and once more Makoto began talking. He was going on about how he was nervous and questioned what the new school year would be like. But even though Makoto was talking right next to him, Haruka couldn't focus on his words. The raven haired male could only focus on the door that served as an entrance and an exit to the school.

Haruka could care less what Makoto was saying at that point. He still couldn't get over what happened in their last year and being in the same classroom that the event happened in did not help. He sighed softly and closed his eyes, humming once to let Makoto know that he was still listening when he wasn't. As he blocked out the others words, the memory flooded back in his mind.

x X x

_"Hey Haru, do you mind waiting here a bit. I have to go back to the classroom to do something. I'll be out in a minute, okay?" Makoto said with a calm smile as him and Haru made it to the base of the staircase._

_Haruka thought nothing of it and only nodded. With that, Makoto nodded as well before sprinting up the stairs to return to the classroom._

_Once Makoto was on the floor of the room, he took his time with walking to it. As he walked, he took out a note from his pocket. Earlier that day, there was a note left on his desk. Makoto thought it was strange, but when he read it he somewhat understood what was going to happen. It was a bit cliché in his opinion, but he didn't want to hurt the girl's feelings. Or so he assumed it was a girl that left him the note to meet her in the classroom after the clubs were over, which was generally around five o'clock_

_Makoto put the note back into his pocket and stood outside the classroom for a moment. He took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself to find the best way possible to reject this girl's feelings. It wasn't that he wasn't interested – he was sure that she was very pretty and smart – but with his unknown feelings for Haruka scratching at him, he couldn't bare to hurt her by thinking of someone else while being with her._

_The brunet opened the door and was ready to face the girl. What he was not expecting was seeing a boy from his class instead: Third year, Takashi Hashimoto. The black haired male was sitting on top of the desk in front of Makoto's, staring at the cleaned black board. He had one leg up to his chest while the other one hanged and his left arm rested on his propped knee. Upon hearing the door open, Takashi turned his head and offered a grin to Makoto._

_"Tachibana-kun, I'm glad you actually came. I was beginning to think that you were going to come at all." He stated and moved his leg to hang off the desk with the other one._

_Makoto smiled back out of consideration and did a small shrug. "I was asked to come, why wouldn't I?"_

_"It was a random note…" Takashi said softly._

_"Obviously it was from someone who knew me though." Makoto countered._

_This made the other's grin melt into a smile. And along with his smile, he felt his heart tighten up._

_"So I assume you were the one that wanted to see me?"_

_"Yes, that's correct. Do you mind walking more inside and closing the door?"_

_Makoto shook his head and closed the door as he stepped in. He was somewhat glad that Takashi asked him to come instead of a girl from his class. At least now he knew that he didn't have to reject anyone's feelings for now._

_"What do you want to talk about?" Makoto asked._

_Takashi slid off the desk and approached Makoto behind the rows of desks. He had to tilt his head up to look at him, standing at five or six inches shorter than him. Takashi took a deep breath and said, "I'm going to be quick and straightforward with you. …I like you… Makoto-kun." His face heated up, but in no way did his confidence diminish. He stood straight and kept eye contact with Makoto._

_At the confession, Makoto couldn't help but show his shock. His eyes widened and he tensed up. It was unbelievable for him to be confessed to by one of his fellow _male _classmates. Makoto blinked a few times and gulped, trying to calm down but finding it hard to. "Hashimoto-san…" He started softly. He opened his mouth to continue speaking, but Takashi raised a hand calmly to stop him._

_"You don't have to return my feelings, I just wanted you to know. It… It hurt to feel this way and I needed to get it off my chest."_

_"How long?"_

_The question caught Takashi off guard. "How long?" He repeated, questioning it himself._

_"How long has it been since you started feeling this way?" Makoto asked, his expression softening a bit._

_Takashi looked down and stood silent for a moment before saying, "Since the end of our first year…"_

_Makoto could only look at him, still not able to respond properly._

_"As I said, you don't have to return my feelings. I just wanted you to know. So please, excuse me if I act strangely around you."_

_"It'll be okay." Makoto responded. "Thank you for telling me."_

_Meanwhile, Haruka was standing by the door. His eyes were slightly wide and he felt frozen in place. He had a feeling that something wasn't right, and so, he followed Makoto to the classroom seconds after the brunet left him. He stood outside the closed door and listened to the conversation, feeling his chest tighten more and more with every word spoken._

_Someone liked Makoto?! _Someone liked Makoto! _Haruka couldn't believe the muffled words he heard. His hands balled up into fists by his side and he shook his head. He knew it wasn't his place to be shocked or angry or jealous, but he couldn't help it. All the feelings he denied, all the truths he tried to hide, they were all coming back to him and shouting at him in his mind. He should have confessed to Makoto. He should have done it years ago. But Haruka denied his feelings for his best friend and now he was stuck with knowing something he shouldn't have known._

_Haruka backed away from the door and sprinted back downstairs. He took a deep breath to calm himself and tried his best to return to his calm and collected state. But now he knew why Takashi would look at Makoto like that. He knew why he gave Makoto that one certain look in the beginning of the school year when the class was laughing at him. Takashi was looking at Makoto with interest, with admiration, with affection and hoping. All in that one stare, it now made sense to Haruka and he now knew why he reacted more to seeing Takashi look at them rather than reacting to the laughter of the class._

_He finally came to grips with himself that he was in love with his best friend. And now that someone else confessed to Makoto first, he knew Makoto was going to dawn on it more than he should. Haruka also knew that he could just confess to Makoto, but he didn't want to risk their friendship. Makoto was his only best friend, was the only person that knew him better than he knew himself, and he just couldn't ruin that bond by letting his emotions get in the way…_

x X x

"Tachibana-kun?" A voice spoke out to Makoto.

Haruka snapped out from his memory at hearing the voice breath Makoto's. He looked over to Makoto and saw that Takashi was next to him on the other side. Makoto's line of vision went from Haruka to Takashi and the brunet smiled at him.

"Hashimoto-san. Good morning!" Makoto greeted.

Haruka felt himself scowl a bit and he turned his head to look out the window. Despite not looking at them, he continued to listen to what they were saying.

"How was your summer?" Takashi asked Makoto.

"It was great. And yours?"

"It was good. …I really wanted to come back to school though. Y'know, see some friends that I wouldn't really see during the summer."

Haruka suppressed the urge to groan. He knew that he was implying that he wanted to see Makoto again; though he was pretty sure the days Makoto weren't with him, they were together. And of course, Makoto was oblivious to it just because it wasn't Haruka or any of his close friends saying the statement. He was about to get up and walk out of the classroom to save himself from sitting there and listening any longer, but the teacher came in and announced that all the students needed to be seated in their desired seats so that she can take attendance. He would be lying if he said he wasn't shocked that Takashi didn't take the seat next to Haruka, but he also thanked the gods that he didn't.

After the attendance was taken, the teacher went straight to describing how she planned the school year to run and picking who would be the president and vice president of the class. All the while, Haruka was focused on sketching in his notebook. A variety of small sketching covered the page; sketches such as a dolphin and orca swimming next to each other and even two boys sitting next to each other that closely resembled him and Makoto. He gripped his pencil tightly and turned the page to doodle something like Iwatobi-chan.

The teacher begun teaching after all matters were handled and Haruka focused as much as he could on the topics. However, he saw from the corner of his eye that Makoto would sometimes look over to Takashi and Takashi would be looking back at him, either smirking or grinning. Haruka had to bite his tongue not to snap at Makoto silently to pay attention to the lesson and not to some teen trying to steal his best friend away. Anyone would have noticed that that was not like Haruka at all.

Lunch time finally rolled around after four topics were reviewed. Makoto was looking over at Takashi again when Haruka begun to put his books back into his bag, but when he finished he saw that Makoto was looking at him. He was smiling that warm smile that was only reserved for him, but by now Haru knew that it meant Makoto wanted to talk about something.

This was it, wasn't it? Makoto was going to tell Haruka that he was going to give Takashi a chance to date him, wasn't he? Haruka felt his stomach churn and he couldn't help but feel the urge to run away. However, he did not and he only grabbed his bento from his bag instead.

"Roof as always?" Makoto asked, knowing the answer already as he grabbed his own bento from his bag.

Haruka nodded and got up. When Makoto got up and begun walking, Haruka followed. They walked in silence and the only sounds that filled the silence were of students conversing in the hallway. Along the way they saw Rei and Nagisa, but their lunch time was different this year so they couldn't eat together like they used to. They exchanged quick hellos and goodbyes and the two childhood friends continued up to the room.

Once they were on the roof, they were both relieved to see that no one was up there. They sat down under the awning and opened their lunch boxes to begin eating. Silence filled the space between them once more and tension begun to build from Haruka's side. He was anxious to hear what Makoto had to say, but he knew it was better to wait until the other was ready.

Minutes passed and they were both finished with their lunch. They were leaning back against the wall and still nothing had been said. Makoto bit his lip in thought, thinking of how he should phrase what he wanted to say. He wanted to tell this to Haruka so badly. He wanted to tell him ever since summer started, but he just couldn't help but keep it to himself. There have been many times where he thought Haru knew already, but each time he denied that fact out of his own denial for his feelings. It was just all so knew to him and he never realized he had such feelings until the confession he received.

"Haru…" Makoto spoke softly.

At hearing his name break the silence, Haruka turned his head to look at Makoto. "Hm?"

"I need to tell you something."

"Does it have to be now?"

Makoto paused for a moment. Did it? In his mind, he already decided it was now or never, though. "Yeah. It does." He responded.

Haruka took a deep breath, ready to hear of his friend finding love already. "Alright."

He was ready for the heartbreak. He was ready for the jealousy.

"Haru…"

He was ready to support. He was ready to be there for Makoto for whatever he would have to be there for.

"I love you."

He was… in shock. Haruka's eyes widened a little and he stared at Makoto as though he had just said the most stupid thing to ever be said. Did he even hear him correctly? "I-I don't understand."

Makoto felt his face heat up and knew that his ears were already red. "Haru. I love you." He repeated.

Haruka heard him and even watched Makoto's mouth as he formed the words, but he still couldn't wrap his finger around it. "You love me?"

"Don't make me say it again, Haru…" Makoto said, his voice giving away how embarrassed he felt to say it to begin with.

"But what about Takashi-?" Haruka asked but then silenced himself. 'Damn it!' He mentally cursed, scolding himself for letting it slip that he knew that information.

Instead of being shocked or angry, Makoto simply smiled. "I figured you were standing outside of the classroom that afternoon. Takashi confessed to me, but I couldn't return the feelings. I couldn't return them because I was already in love with you. I just… Didn't know how to go upon confessing to you. He helped me figure it out." He explained.

Haruka's face still held a baffled expression. "The looks you two share in the classroom…"

"He was supporting me because I told him I wanted to confess to you today."

"Makoto. I—"

The bell chimed for them to go back to class and cut Haruka off. He pressed his lips together and stared at the floor. Makoto stood up and offered his free hand to help the other stand up. "We can talk about it after school."

x X x

Just as Makoto said, they were going to talk about it after school. The two were sitting in Haruka's living room, sitting on the couch and facing each other. They never really said anything aside from asking about school work and moods. Makoto let out a soft breath and his face became somewhat serious now.

"So Haru… Do you need more time to think about it?" Makoto asked, not wanting to be rude to Haruka's feelings.

The raven haired male blankly stared at the wall behind Makoto. He knew exactly how he felt, but he wasn't sure he was ready for it. As far as he was concerned, he could figure that Makoto would be very considerate toward his feelings. That still didn't stop the hesitation. Although he soon responded, "No. …No. I have my answer." He paused and Makoto looked at him anxiously.

Makoto was ready for an acceptance or rejection of his feelings. All that really mattered to him was that they stood friends. If they didn't, Makoto didn't know what he would do with himself. But Takashi warned him about that. He told him that confessing would be a huge jump but it was for the better. It was better to get it off his chest instead of holding it in and doing foolish things that could have a negative effect without an explanation. Takashi also told him that it was better that it was a friend rather than a stranger or a random classmate, because then the friendship would take over to keep the bond rather than there not being a bond there to begin with.

"I love you too, Makoto." Haruka finally said, breaking Makoto's train of thought.

Makoto stared at Haruka for a moment, giving him an emotionless look. But seconds later, his face lit up with a huge smile. Overwhelmed with emotion, Makoto leaned forward and brought Haruka into a tight embrace. Haruka blinked at the action but didn't dismiss it. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Makoto and returned the gesture.

They stood like that for a couple of seconds until Makoto moved back a little to look at Haruka's face. He kept one arm around him while the hand of the other arm moved up to hesitantly cup Haruka's face.

"Haru… Can I…"

"You can." Haruka responded, already knowing what Makoto was going to ask. It was something he found himself always thinking about whenever he got too close to the brunet. He would have felt foolish if he said no.

Makoto smiled gently and leaned forward to lightly press his lips against Haruka's. It was awkwardly positioned, but Haru loved the spark it gave nonetheless. He tilted his head to the side to try to find a more comfortable position for their lips and added a little more pressure to kiss back. They pulled away and felt as though the breath was stolen from their lungs despite the kiss only being for a few seconds. They stared at each other and couldn't help but smile at their new found excitement.

x X x

"Yoooo, Tachibana-kun!" Takashi called out when he entered the classroom the next day.

Makoto looked over his shoulder to look back at the black-haired male and smiled. "Hey there."

Takashi grinned as he approached him and quickly said a "Hey Nanase-kun!" when Haruka looked up to look at him. He turned his attention back to Makoto and leaned forward to whisper to him, "How'd it go?"

Makoto felt his face warm up and his smile turned into a grin, "Perfect."

From his seat, Haruka couldn't help but narrow his eyes at the two. But quickly after he did so, he shook his head and reminded himself that everything was all cleared up and tried to return to his usual bored expression. Takashi glanced over at Haruka and raised an eyebrow.

"You okay, Nanase-kun?"

"Mhm…" Haruka hummed as he looked out the window.

Takashi stared at him for a moment longer before deciding to mess with him. "Play along, Tachibana-kun." He whispered to Makoto. Makoto was clueless but agreed nonetheless.

Takashi pressed his cheek against Makoto's and said in a teasing tone, "Na-na-se-kun~ Don't tell me you're _jealous_~"

Haruka turned his head to look at the two. "I'm not jea—" He cut himself off at seeing the two rub their cheeks together in mock affection. The bored expression Haruka wore was quickly replaced with a threatening look.

The other black haired male tensed up but kept his cheek against Makoto's. He glanced at the brunet from the corner of his eye and said in a squished voice, "He's going to kick my ass, isn't he?"

"Yep." Makoto responded, as well in a squished voice.

"Should I run?"

"You should run."

"Right. See ya later, Tachibana-kun."

With that, Takashi pushed away from Makoto and sprinted out into the hall way. Haruka got up, ready to chase him but Makoto stopped him by grabbing his wrist.

"You're not really going to chase him, are you?" He asked in a slightly worried tone.

"I am. But I'm not going to do anything." Haru responded, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

Makoto saw the light expression in his eyes and let go of his wrist, shaking his head as Haruka ran off into the hallway.

Things were going to be okay after all. And who knows, maybe they even have a new friend for the new year from now on.


End file.
